Ginger Pale Ale | Northwest Brewing Company

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Poured a medium golden color with a small sized white head. Aromas of, drum roll please, Ginger. Tastes of, drum roll again, Ginger. This one was all about the ginger. Although the ginger wasn't as strong in the tastes, it was there. The ginger in this one got us into a Sushi conversation.

I admittedly was disappointed in this brew. The color and clarity was very nice in my tulip glass. Absolutely no head, which was reflective of the beer's very watery body. A rich orange/gold color which was very nice.
The smell was mostly ginger, a little mandarin tang and sourness. Couldn't pick up too much malt, and no hops at all.
Taste was not too complex. Very foward with ginger and mandarin. Very mild sweetness to back it, but overall very simple and not well balanced. It became increasingly difficult to drink after the first glass, but I managed to get through the bomber. This may be better as a meal pairing, but I would not purchase this again. I will definitely give Laughing Buddha another chance, because this may have just simply been a matter of taste. The beer was clean and it was evident that they used good ingredients, I just was not impressed by the recipe.

Bomber for under $4, that works for me....pours kinda fizzy and noisy under a near white head, early pour are clar, but the final pour ends up clouded, some retention on the head, and leaving a long lasting collar and some moderate lacing. The nose is of the expected ginger with an additional wiff of aftershave, yikes, differant brew fer sure...more ginger comes through on the tongue and it adds an interesting note, just not sure if I like it yet or not. Heavy ginger, citrus, soap, more aftershave lotion, sheeesh, this stuff if differant and I dont think I like it, a few more sips and this one is soapy, spicy and not all that pleasant to my taste buds, got through about 2/3 of the bottle, but alas, the rest is a drain pour, interesting, differant, but in the end not for me...quite unlikely I'd go for this one again..

The beer pours a nice gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a light and refreshing pale malt and ginger spice aroma. The Mandarin orange peel is noticeable and provides excellent complexity and balance for the ginger. The taste is average. It has a crisp and refreshing taste that's not too heavy in the malt department, but plenty loaded with spices. The ginger and orange peel are up front and damn tasty, but the malt character is really lacking and it finishes quite watery. The mouthfeel is average. It is a low bodied beer with too much carbonation. This is an interesting beer, but I'm almost positive I'll never drink another.

Smell: Mellow smell with a predominate ginger smell with hints of orange and slighty of cloves.

Taste: Kick you in the butt ginger! It was like drinking liquid ginger. Spicyness due to the ginger. You can taste a little bit of the citrus. A little on the sweet side.

Mouthfeel: Light, easy. Light carbonation and the ginger leave a tingly feeling and a long aftertaste.

Drinkability: Might go well with food and paired with something asian or ginger-friendly. Not very great by itself. I only had a small glass yet that was more than enough. At first it was easy to drink but the more I consumed the less I liked it and the ginger just was WAY too much. Definetly couldn't finish a whole bottle by myself!

Served in pint glass. Poured a clear, straw color with a thin, quickly dissipating, white head that left moderate lacing. The ginger mixes well with the other aromas. The ginger is a clear, but not overpowering, presence in the flavor profile. Medium, leaning towards thin, body. Very drinkable but, depending on your tastes, could get tiresome. A solid and unique take on standard Pale Ales.

Pours a slightly hazy toasted straw color with a small white head that quickly dissipated into nothingness. Looks like a shade darker apple juice. The aroma is of ginger, a bit flowery, almost a wild honey or raw sugar sweetness, quite nice. Ginger up front with a solid yet mild supporting malt, perhaps a touch of a lemon twang in the end. The feel is light to moderate, fizzy carbonation; finishes with an herbal ginger sweetness. I didn't think I was going to like this brew as I think actual ginger tastes like soap but this brew works. There is a nice ginger characteristic that plays well with the malt. This is a no brainer for sushi restuarants.

Pale amber with a good off white head that departed quickly leaving a ring of suds. Few lacings. Aroma was ginger. Taste is like an amped up ginger beer. If you like ginger this is your beer. If not pass on this one. No bad attributes if ginger is your thing.

pours a chill-hazed decently bring golden hue in the glass, capped with a fizzy off-white cap that fizzles and pops down to a thin cap fairly quickly. lacing, unfortunately, is kept to a minimum.

just incase there was any doubt, the aroma smacks you in the face with ginger. a bit of lemongrass, a hint of floral hop notes, and more ginger. smells like a strong ginger beer.

The aroma wasn't playing around... smells like a ginger soda, tastes like a ginger soda. A nice fresh-ginger note up front, fading to a more earthy gingering. There's a bit of hop bitterness and maybe a touch of pale malt hiding in the wings, but the ginger is definitely the star of the show. a bit of white sugar sweetness keeps it from being too spicy.

aroma and taste following soda is acceptable... the mouthfeel doing the same is unexpected. Light, even for a pale, with some ample carbonation. it actually works alright with the flavors, but a touch fuller body (or a touch less carbonation) would do wonders for this one. Clean and crisp, a touch drying, all in all not too bad.

This one went great with food, and I could see utilizing it in the same fashion in the future. not one I would session, nor would regularly seek out. but as far as ginger beers go, this one is nicely executed and sits at a fair price point. It's definitely ginger, ginger, and more ginger. If that's not your thing, don't bother with this one. If you dig ginger, than this one may be worth a shot.

Trade Route describes their ginger ale as "an appetizing beer brewed with fragrant ginger and mandarin orange peel." They actually use two varieties of ginger - a Thai galangal and a commercial Hawaiian variety. The combination of the two makes for a strong ginger-spice fragrance above a hazed, honey-gold beer that shows no head or lace. Big bubbles rise rapidly through the mix.

As expected, the beer tastes like ginger. It could be a little hotter for my tastes à la Reeds, and the finish is even less strong than the mid-palate. But it's not overly sweet and would work well with a variety of Asian foods.

Juicy apricot with a crystalline clarity. The pastel ginger colored crown looks like meringue and is slowly crackling away. It's a little too smooth and featureless to impress. Not only that, but the glass is virtually untouched by lace.

The wonderfully warm, exotic, spicy aroma of freshly grated ginger filled the room on the pour. Talk about fragrant beer! The amazing thing is that mandarin orange peel, although subtle, is appreciated as well. If you like ginger, you'll like the way this one smells. If you don't, then you won't.

The same sentiment applies to the flavor. The brewers did a fantastic job of not allowing the ginger to dominate the entire beer. This is a strongly flavored ale that, nevertheless, retains some semblance of balance. That doesn't mean that even a ginger lover like me won't get a tad flavor weary by the bottom of the bomber. Hence, the slight decrease in the drinkability score.

The base pale ale tastes mostly pale malted, with a surprising hop firmness. Even though hop flavor is almost completely superceded by ginger, I'll make a stab in the dark and say that German varieties were used. There's just enough underlying sweetness and orange peel tartness to take the edge off the ginger spiciness.

The mouthfeel is okay at the start, but loses its way on the finish by thinning out too soon. The bubbles aren't sturdy enough to keep things buoyant until the swallow. Still, not bad at all.

Laughing Buddha Brewing Company became Tradewinds Brewing Company on the first of this month. No matter what they call themselves, they brew pretty good beer that never fails to be interesting. Pandan Brown and Ginger Pale are the cream of the crop so far.

Ok, this is a style worth trying as Ginger beers are far and few ( though two breweries in Vancouver brew one at around the same time). The beer is ginger on the nose and ginger on the finish which is cool as long as you like ginger(I love ginger). The ale is well made with decent hops and malt to back up the big ginger taste. Nice beer that is very different than anything else on the shelf.

Chill hazed dull gold with a spritzy, noisy off white head that is quick to settle and leaves scattered lace. With the sound, bubbly body and quick forming and falling head, you really can't help but think of ginger ale!

Smell is mostly ginger, light orange, a bit floral, but not overly assertive.

Taste is also mostly ginger, with not much in the way of pale malts or hops, some bitterness and bread on the finish. Overall, it's really a pretty clean beer. The ginger is refreshing though and not overblown, and it's overall a nice little beer, paired well with my salmon salad.

Mouthfeel is very light and spritzy, again, like the soda version (or maybe the soda is a version of this, I'm not sure of it's historical provenance). As a pale, it would be thin, but the light body goes well with the crispness.

Drinkability was pretty high, the bomber went down with ease in a hurry, really nice to wash down my food, not to strong, light in the belly, pretty much everything I'd want from a Ginger Pale Ale. Still, it's not something I wanted another bottle of either, but this would be sure pick with food at a bistro or something, good hot weather bbq choice I'd reckon too, but not the only thing you'd want to stick to.
Of course this is a spiced beer so I'm not sure why I'd hold that against it...sure if if was just called a pale ale with not mention of the ginger or mandarin, I'd be put off. But I knew what I was getting into, even if I'm not a huge fan of spiced beers as a concept, and this one is pretty good.

Appearance: clear copper orange in color with a short 1/2" head that slowly breaks to a thick surface foam.

Smell: pleasant ginger and some malt sweetness is easy to detect.

Taste: ginger is the main flavor, but unlike others it is not overpowering and actually works with the other flavors. Some caramel, bits of orange citrus, and a soft bitterness rounds it out. Mildly refreshing.

Mouthfeel: lightly crisp throughout. Medium bodied beer. Aftertaste is long but mild as the ginger lingers softly on the tongue.

Drinkability: I did not pair this with any food, but it would work well with asian food. Drinking in a standalone fashion as I was, one pint was good and two would be pushing it. A beer worthy of a try.